>> i'm jessica yellen and this is cnn.

black smoke, no pope. the cardinals will deliver again tomorrow. we go live to rome with the latest. a beloved tv icon. >> i took the subway. a prime time exclusive with valerie harper. >> she has terminal cancer. she's now living for every moment. want to take a knife on a plane? it's okay with tsa. >> they ought to smell the coffee. they ought to immediately repeal this rule. >> why the battle axes and machetes should be allowed, too. the congressman trying to get tsa to crack down, not lighten up. one senior aid called the offensive a joke. what's going on? this is piers morgan live.

good evening, we are looking live at the vatican where 115 cardinals are getting well deserved rest tonight. we saw the plume of black smoke showing no pope has been chosen. they will be back in the sistine chapel, deliberating. two votes in the morning followed by possibly white smoke. if not, two more votes in the afternoon. meanwhile, in california, a priest settles a lawsuit against a los angeles archdiocese and cardinal mahoney. he's in the conclave helping to choose the next pope. we'll get to that. we begin with a story of courage and grace. valerie harper, an award winning tv icon from the "mary tyler moore show." she's speaking out about her illness.

she's been diagnosed with brain cancer. valerie harper joins me for a prime time interview. it's so nice to see you. i'll be struck by one thing looking at you doing various interviews in the last week. you look remarkably well for somebody who has been told you may only have literally only a few weeks to live. >> i lost the sound for you but i get the gist of what you have said, piers. it's just that the disease i have is quite a rare cancer. it is located in a looted area, a very widespread area, but narrow. a lot can happen if the cancer starts getting really aggressive, pressing on parts of the brain and causing me to lose either my speech or my ability

to think et cetera. so, that's why i thought i should tell the whole family, my whole family, the extended family who loved row da and valerie as well and deserve to hear the news from me. this way, i have control of the message. i cannot hear you. i'm sorry to say. there. i got you, darling. >> can you hear me? >> you're back. yes, i can. >> excellent. excellent. let me take you back. the cruel irony of what's happened to you, you had lung cancer and basically defeated lung cancer. you must have felt a great euphoria of beaten the dreaded "c" word. >> i did. >> tell me about that. >> that's why i wrote the book. i better write my memoirs while i can remember. at 73. i wanted to share about the cancerous tumor that was in my

lung. a great doctor, mckenna, took it out with a very, very wonderful mode of operation called vats. it's visually assisted thor asic surgery. it is very simple. my mother had the same kind of cancer when she was, you know, back in 1970. they had to do a huge invasive operation going all the way around her body with an incision lifting the ribs. this is like ort skopic surgery. he invented it. his team has done over 3,000 procedures. amazing. i did it between doing my tony nominated role. in florida, at christmas and then in summer in washington, d.c.

then we took it to broadway. here i have that kind of surgery, very minimally invasive because they go in several small, small incisions and you heal up very quickly. i thought oh, this is great. i'm going to talk about it in the book, if i do it. three years later, i worked on the book. cancer free. then, just two months after i was saying i'm cancer free and this is great, i got this diagnosis. i think i was opened up to talking to people about personal things in my life. nothing raunchy. i didn't have raunch or alcoholism. just slept with my husbands. or, if i did, i wasn't going to talk about it. that was my book. i think that's part of me wanting to go public now. i want people clear about what's going on. that was four years ago.

dr. mckenna gave me that. now the doctors are on the trail of trying to help me with this. after this little course, a short course of chemo that is designed to get through the blood, brain barrier, if you understand what that is, this protective coating, infection and bacteria don't get through, and neither does chemo, except certain designed ones. they are working on medicine rather than chemo that gets to my particular cancer. every cancer cell has its own dna. who knew? i certainly didn't. and markers. they are working from my tumor of four years ago, looking ate it, biopsying and trying to develop it for me not because i'm an actor or people know me but because i'm a cancer patient. it's the new frontier, i think. >> at that moment, from what i

understand, the doctor, when he realized it was a terminal condition, he told your husband of 34 years. tony decided for awhile not to tell you. how long was it before he finally told you? >> i think it was a week or two, as i remember. because i could feel something going on with my friends and with, you know, there was like an elephant in the room, slightly. a small one. but tony was told at the hospital in new york, there's nothing we can do for her. in fact, there hasn't been. it is incurable, so far. then we decided -- he told me and i felt better, actually, piers to know what i was dealing with. why was i feeling so good? the meds they had me on, just two a day, you know. two times of the day. it's not like a huge cocktail or a -- i mean it's not -- it seems

so simple. my life is the same. i'm exercising, i'm walking. i'm doing book tours. i'm just living my life with the help of the doctors and their team. i'm just doing one foot in front of the other and i feel much better knowing and i decided, gee, if this news comes out, it's going to be horrifying. by the way, my neighbors immediately called the house, sent notes, can we bring casseroles, can i cook for you. i thought yes, oh, they think i'm in a wheelchair or laying with tubes. while i can talk and communicate and express, we are all terminal. every single one of us. none of us are getting out of this alive. i don't like to look at death, but accept that death is inevitable and leave it alone. live the moment. don't be thinking about your

death way before the time of your death. that's when i'm really trying to share. i thank all my twitter people and facebook and all the cards and letters and wonderful stuff that has flowed in. i haven't been able to respond because i have been so busy doing media. karpe diem, seize the day. >> i have never seen anybody -- i know people who have been diagnosed with a terminal condition. to most people it would be the single most crushing thing that happened to them. you have reacted in an extraordinarily positive way. people are all asking the same thing. where do you feel you get the strength to be like this? >> first of all, i'm almost 74. i have had a magnificent run. the most wonderful husband for 34 years. a great career.

finally, after all these years of wanting to be a stage actress, i got a tony nomination in 2010. at 70 years old, what could be better? but, i really look at my life as blessed. sure, i have had challenges and terrible things happen and loss of dear people and all that, but i really think that if we had less fear and resistance like a stratified thing to death, life would be happier. the moments of our lives would be fuller and richer. i'm not saying, you know, pollyanna, yeah. i don't mean it to sound like yay, here comes death. if it is a reality, they said three months to live. oncologists will tell you, we don't say that, we say three, maybe six, maybe one week. in my case, because of where it is.

i could have a seizure at anytime. i'm feeling so good and i don't have any side effects. i'm having my life is so, i don't know, i'm trying to just live in the moment. that doesn't mean i don't get incredibly sad. sometimes at night, i wake up totally depressed. i don't want to go. i don't want to leave this fabulous guy next to me. i am sad. i do should have, would have, could have. i'm trying to do things that i should have done such as go to the lawyer and get things cleaned up and ready, but you should do that anyway. they should know. their kids should know what they want to do in terms of a funeral or cremation or whatever they wish. so, i'm living more responsibly and i want folks out there struggling with cancer to have what i have, which is insurance. the whole country should, every

american should have what i have. it's just something we have to work on diligently until it is accomplished. that's a huge stress on folks who would rather die than leave their family in, you know, dire straits financially. that's a sin, for me. so, we can do it. it isn't the doctors. there's a lot of toll booths, as you know, piers, between the people who need health care and the health care here. there's a lot in our american system that needs to be absolutely revamped, looked at. >> i couldn't agree more, valerie. it's great you said that. >> look at other countries. >> i come from a country with free health care. it's a different thing. let's take a break. you are being so positive and you say you want to achieve all the things you haven't achieved.

after the break, what are you going to do for the last few, weeks, months, hopefully longer? tell me after the break. >> take some acting jobs. >> why not? >> i'm serious. because they're just that much fresher and they help keep static off in the cold so my clothes will never embarrass me. mommy, i dressed the snowman! how do you get your bounce? less static year-round. [ male announcer ] a car has a rather small rear-view mirror, so we can occasionally glance back at where we've been. it has an enormous windshield so we can look ahead to where we are going. now is always the time to go forward. and reimagine all the possibilities that lie before us. an ally for real possibilities. aarp. find tools and guidance at aarp.org/possibilities. britta olsen is my patient.

i spend long hours with her checking her heart rate, administering her medication, and just making her comfortable. one night britta told me about a tradition in denmark, "when a person dies," she said, "someone must open the window so the soul can depart." i smiled and squeezed her hand. "not tonight, britta. not tonight." [ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, thank you, from johnson & johnson. [ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, all stations come over to mithis is for real this time. step seven point two one two. verify and lock. command is locked. five seconds. three, two, one. standing by for capture. the most innovative software on the planet... dragon is captured. is connecting today's leading companies to places beyond it. siemens. answers. oh, hi thehey!ill. are you in town for another meeting?

yup, i brought my a-team. business trips add up to family time. this is my family. this is joe. hi joe! hi there! earn a ton of extra points with the double your hhonors promotion and feel the hamptonality. but that doesn't mean i don't want to make money.stor. i love making money. i try to be smart with my investments. i also try to keep my costs down. what's your plan? ishares. low cost and tax efficient. find out why nine out of ten large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal. so, i'm working on a cistern intake valve, and the guy hands me a locknut wrench. no way! i'm like, what is this, a drainpipe slipknot? wherever your business takes you, nobody keeps you on the road like progressive commercial auto.

[ flo speaking japanese ] [ shouting in japanese ] we work wherever you work. now, that's progressive. call or click today. would you believe i took the subway? the subway, mary. i'll never be able to wear it again. >> valerie harper, 50 million people tuned in for what was the event of the year. valerie is back with me now. in the break, i was checking my twitter feed. it absolutely has blown up with people so moved and inspired. many to tears by the way that you have been talking about this. it's so extraordinary for me to

interview somebody who knows they have a very short period of time to live. i can't remember doing that before. i was curious before the break, how do you feel about the time you have left? are there things you want to achieve? do you have a famous bucket list saying i have to do this before? >> i have been doing that the last few years without knowing i was ill. when people invited me to lunch, i would say listen, you are 71, go to lunch. take the date. do that. really. it's interesting. i was doing it and i'm kind of in that mode. the interesting thing, too, is that people need to get this early testing is so important. there's a huge amount of people, women, who are getting lung cancer who never smoked or people that stopped smoking 20 years ago as dr. mckenna told me, it hits them 20 years later. i want to get that message out. that's something i can do.

i can tell people keep your chin up, don't go to the funeral, mine or yours or your loved ones until the day of the funeral. then you miss the life you have left. so, i really feel this is kind of an opportunity and also a responsibility. >> there was a wonderful line there -- a wonderful line i want to read you from the original three "mary tyler moore" shows. mary is who you wish you were. rhoda is who you are and phyllis is the one you become. it explains why people feel so vested in what's happened to you. so many people related to you on a human level. you were the kind of person they could be. >> that's right.

she was familiar. she would say anything. she was funny. greatest comedy writers in the world putting jokes in rhoda's mouth. there was a recognition that she could be your neighbor or the gal at the drugstore behind the counter. it was a wonderful character to play. i was privileged to do it nine years. so, yeah, it's true, piers. that is connected. >> when you look back, valerie, with this extraordinary life you have had, what is the greatest moment for you? if i could replay a moment for you, what would you choose? >> oh, my goodness, my husband telling me he thought we should adopt. because i would make a great mother. that was a nice one. other, the achievements, being directed by paul newman. who wouldn't want to look into those blue eyes. there have been milestones all

along. biggest of all, was just having tony in my life, at my side, at my back, helping me in every way possible. enjoying life with me and traveling and all the things we have done. so, i guess my marriage which is ongoing, unfolding to this minute. tony was very resistant to facing the facts of my impending death, with good reason. but he is come around. he said val, let's extend your time here. maybe they will discover something. he's terribly positive. he has the soul of a coach. that's how i met him. he wasn't my boyfriend. he was my guru. i loved him as a teacher. we became very close later as i detail in my book and married,

adopted our darling daughter who is now grown up and handling this really well. so, i just want folks to see me, that i'm okay, i'm not suffering, so far. there may be pain. there may be a lot of things ahead. whatever they are, they are ahead. they are not now. i want folks to know where i am now and how much i have just been touched to the bone marrow by their concern, their love, their offers of care, their say, oh, i know this doctor there or i know this alternative medicine, eat raw food, my darling friend who i worked with for years has a wonderful book called "live raw," swears by it. people are sending me wishes and love and heart. i accept it. i'm so glad i went public. i totally understand what people

don't want to. it's been impossible for me to get back to folks. i will do it, over time, i will. it's just been -- i just feel love, connectedness, the human family, holding hands on this one. death is out there for all of us. there's other ways to handle it than just sit on the couch and accept or, you know, having health care is a huge part of that. we have to push for it and get it. >> valerie, finally, how would you like to be remembered? >> oh, that's great. she was up and off the couch. she was, you know, or off her you know what. i think i have been all my life. i had a mom, a canadian mom who

was a nurse and my beautiful dad, ex-hockey player who met her in canada. it's all in my book. he was so positive. he was a salesman. i guess i got some of that energy from him. my brother don and my sister leah, what a great family. not perfect, in fact, the marriage fell apart, but it was such a nice grounding thing to be in a family where there was love and space for fights and everything. but forgiveness. that's a big one. people need to do that. they need to forgive themselves. as oprah said so brilliantly, forgiveness is the -- is giving up the wish that the past could have been different. when you give that up, you are released. you don't forget. the person is not exonerated. it wasn't good what they did to you but you release it. you don't have to hold it and

you don't have to do it to yourself. your mind, ego will beat you up all the time. we are bigger. being, spirit, whatever you want to call it, there's something larger. we need our mind to stay out of traffic, move around, do great things and write stuff, but it isn't the whole of us. that other place, that experience place, where you can look at your mind, make up stories about yourself or other people. instead of saying that was mean of you, look at it like the zen philosophy. you observe it. become observer. then you say, if my mind is saying this, who is observing? who is observing without judgment? that is part of who we are. that is that being place where we are connected to everybody. i think people can give themselves a chance.

>> i do, too. i do, too. >> the books are brilliant on this for delivering a message in english to westerners about this way of looking at life and about experiencing life. i think maybe my work on that has prepared me to face this in the way that i am. everyone says brave. i don't know that it's brave so much as what's good for valerie to do. it feels natural for me after tony and i talked it over that we go public, go public once in a big way so it's clear and people get to see how i'm doing and they will be prepared. then they don't have to do big memorials, we have done it. i have experienced it. i mean it. i have heard all your speeches. i've gotten all your love. it's so humbling and it's so comforting and it is such -- so good for my spirit that you are

all out there doing that through whatever method. even old phone calls and people saying call me back. i want to tell them, i can't. i have to save my voice for more talk shows. i will do it. i will get back to everybody and thank you and hug you. >> i wish i could hug you. sadly, we are on different coasts. i found it inspiring to talk to you. i think brave is the wrong word because you are where you are. what you have is an incredible energy. you are so inspiring to so many people suffering from illness out there. i want to thank you so much. >> i hope so. >> your book "i rhoda." long may you last. you have us all behind you. i hope you can beat this as you beat the last one. you never know. miracles can happen. >> that's right. spontaneous remission. thank you, piers. >> loved talking to you,

valerie. valerie, harper. what an extraordinary woman. we'll be right back. if you think running a restaurant is hard, try running four. fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase. ...amelia... neil and buzz: for teaching us that you can't create the future... by clinging to the past. and with that: you're history. instead of looking behind... delta is looking beyond. 80 thousand of us investing billions... in everything from the best experiences below... to the finest comforts above. we're not simply saluting history...

we're making it.

it shows. we don't run like that. we build john deere equipment the way we always have: the right way. times change. our principles don't. you don't just have our word on it. you've got our name on it. that's how we run. nothing runs like a deere. discover the full line of riding lawn equipment at johndeere.com/howwerun or your local dealer.

now i want to turn to the battle over the tsas ban to allow knives on planes. there's a bill to stop it. it doesn't go far enough. he wants machetes and battle axes on board as well. we have the former inspector general and congressman ed markey. let me start with you, ed, if i may. you want the tsa to relax rules, why?

>> because in boston, nine al qaeda hijacked two planes back on 9/11. it's where i'm from. those guys used a box cutter just like this to take over those planes and the other two planes. this is still banned. what tsa is now saying is while this is still banned, this swiss army knife can be brought on to the same planes. that makes no sense what so ever. we have gone a long way since 9/11 where people after that incident were looking at each other suspiciously on planes every time they flew. now people feel more comfortable. what they are doing is returning us to that day where they are going to wonder, does someone have a knife? are there four or five others on the plane attempting to do something that could result in catastrophe? it's wrong. i have introduced my

legislation, the no knives aboard act to force congress to vote on this issue if tsa does not reverse itself. >> you ran the tsa for a number of years after 9/11. i want to say, i share why on earth tsa would start relaxing rules and allow knives on board? who needs to have a knife on board? >> the question is what could destroy an airplane. that vulnerability was closed later in the day when flight 93 went down. in the year since, that door is slammed shut. al qaeda is after much more sophisticated and more effective methods and especially bombs. what's happened is in searching for small objects, the officers are distracted from the purpose

of finding the difficult to find bombs. to congressman markey's point, that's why i said about the battle axes. if you are going to say blades don't pose a threat, include them all. don't try to differentiate between one or the other. no matter what size your blade is, you cannot hijack an airplane. >> let's turn to mary. i'm at a loss to understand why you can't kill people with knives. that could help to hijack a plane. am i missing something? >> yes, you can kill and bring down a plane with a knife. we are doing revision as history. september 11, 2001, it was a law the cockpit door had to be locked and secured. there were 1,000 hijackings carried out by knives. there are 50 bombings, more people died in hijacked

aircraft. they got the doors open by stabbing flight attendants. before september 11, they allowed knives back on planes. what they were supposed to do was measure them. they took their id and measured it against the blades. these are the blades they purchased. they were allowed on 9/11. under the new law, this one is not allowed, but this one would. it makes no sense. we are going to spend our time measuring knives. on 9/11, we were looking for bombs and the hijackers exploited our shortsightedness. security is going to hang by an inch. if you give a terrorist an inch, he'll take a mile. >> back to you, kip. a lot of people are bemused by the tsa, this particular time, when there's a major terrorist threat to the american people, you would allow knives when you

could use them to intimidate and attack stewards or stewardesses and force your way by them into cockpits. >> no, no, not going to happen. >> how do you know? >> because they will be shot dead by air marshals or, you know -- >> just to clarify, there's a federal marshall aboard every single domestic flight in america? >> of course not. >> how do you know they are going to shoot them dead if they are not an board? >> look at it from the tsas point of view. there's a threat of bombs. al qaeda knows they are not going to take a plane with a knife now. >> why? why? explain -- you don't explain to me why. why is the threat less now? i have seen stewardesses going into the cockpit.

why can't you use one of these knives, i have one here, or one of these baseball bats or a golf club that you won't allow. in your case, machetes, you want to have on board. i could use a machete to threaten a stewardess. why are you so confident it's not going to happen? >> because the level of security is night and day from before 9/11 to today. i'm telling you, hijacking with blades is not going to happen. there is zero possibility of that. it is bombs. it's difficult enough to find the bomb parts. that's why administrators are after this so hard and willing to take the flak. he knows the officers have a limit number of moments in looking at the screen to find the bomb parts and fluttering through with a list of other objects that may be dangerous. i'm sympathetic.

just like smoke detectors and playing words with friends, the faa, if there's a cabin safety, tsa needs to focus on bombs. it's a distraction from that critical mission to be fussing around with these knives. >> i have to say, i know you seem bemused by anybody thinking any plane can be charged with a knife, yet it's exactly what happened on 9/11. i don't get this and in fact the more he spoke, the less i got it. am i missing something? >> no. moreover, while a knife this size is going to be allowed is not going to be -- is going to be allowed, a knife that is just another inch longer will be prohibited.

so the tsa screeners are going to have to be measuring anyway. >> right. >> if they are going to, why not keep it the way it was because these box cutters are prohibited. so, why don't we make it simple. the union that represents the tsa screeners, they are against this. the flight attendants are against it. the air marshals are against it, u.s. air, delta, they are against it. give the people of the united states the knowledge that they are safe when they are walking on to a plane. no one will have a knife on board. it just makes no sense to change this rule. >> it only seems to make sense to kip who wants machetes on board. we're going to leave it there. thank you for your time. i remain mystified why the tsa is doing this. most level headed americans do as well. coming up, live to rome. the latest on the cardinal's conclave. could we have a new pope by this

time tomorrow?

whoa! nobody insures more bikes than progressive. do you guys ride? well... no. sometimes, yeah. yes. well, if you know anybody else who also rides, send them here -- we got great coverage. it's not like bikers love their bikes more than life itself. i doubt anyone will even notice. leading the pack in motorcycle insurance. now, that's progressive. call or click today. aarrggh!

the world is watching the vatican tonight as over a billion catholics await the news of a new pope. it could be a few days yet.

joining me from roam is lena, host of the catholic channel and a catholic voice usa at large of the national review. welcome to you both. we spoke yesterday. it could be a few more days, it could be tomorrow. could be up to four votes tomorrow. tell me what may or may not be going on inside the conclave. do we know anything or it is a wall or glorious silence? >> we know a little bit of what is going on. we know they are voting. that's exciting news. we weren't sure if they were going to vote tonight. there was a chance they were going to gather together and not vote, just pray and eat dinner. they voted to vote. when the black smoke came out, it was exciting. we know the process has begun. we are on our way to getting a pope. >> by all accounts -- >> yeah. after you. >> by all accounts after you get the first vote out of the way,

you get to start to work to get a sense of who the favored among whom and so the process obviously is moving along now. >> it's interesting it happened tonight in terms of the biggest problem may not be an election of the pope but how the new pope handles the constant problem or sexual abuse by priests, catholic priests toward young boys, girls. a case tonight, four california men molested as boys by a priest the los angeles archdiocese and cardinal roger mahoney is at the conclave voting, they got almost $10 million. a damming development. what do people feel about that down there? >> well, you are probably not surprised to hear, we are not for sexual abuse. obviously, this is a horrible thing. this is something the church is trying to wrestle with and deal with. the new pope, whoever that hope

is going to be is dealing with the zero tolerance policy. it's not that any of the men in the conclave are unaware of the problems in the past. >> piers, i think this is the reason americans are being talked about. it's an unprecedented thing. i didn't believe it until i got here. everybody is talking cardinal o'malley and cardinal dolan. the reason is america has had to deal with this. america has in place, there will always be example ofs problems and sins and crimes. the fact of the matter is in america, a priest tends to be guilty until proven innocent at this point and time in catholic circles. actually, the world looks to us at this moment. when you look at how boston turned around and cardinal dolan and st. louis and milwaukee has a lot of experience and has seen

the worst. the filth that pope benedict talked about. so, i think that explains the u.s. focus in a lot of ways. >> okay. we'll see how it goes tomorrow. it could be an exciting day. thank you both very much for staying up so late to join us. >> thank you. >> thanks. >> good night. a way around a crisis. lanny davis. disfuns in washington. what's this? uhh, it's my geico insurance id card, sir. it's digital, uh, pretty cool right? maybe. you know why i pulled you over today? because i'm a pig driving a convertible? tail light's out.. fix it. digital insurance id cards. just a click away with the geico mobile app.

i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, or if you develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. with chantix and with the support system it worked for me. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you.

it shows. we don't run like that. we build john deere equipment the way we always have: the right way. times change. our principles don't. you don't just have our word on it. you've got our name on it. that's how we run. nothing runs like a deere. discover the full line of riding lawn equipment at johndeere.com/howwerun or your local dealer.

our next guest is a veteran from the white house. and he knows a thing or two about handling a crisis in washington. the author of crisis. you're the man i would go to in

a crisis. i'm hoping i don't need you. don't take that personally. let's just go through a few contemporary crises, as i see them. one is the on going gun control debate, or gun safety debate, as i prefer to say now. what do you make of the way that's being framed. and when do you think that will happen? >> a little-known fact. facts are that background checks don't hurt anybody, help everyone and there's massive public support for it. i think the obama administration needs to focus on that fact. and they will get it done. >> what about an assault weapons ban? >> assault weapons ban, there is very little support for assault weapons. most people wouldn't want to touch one, much less use one. the nra is out of range with 75% of every poll. get that fact out there and make sure that 25% know that they're out done -- i almost said out gunned. >> actually, they are in terms of the press and messengers, yes? let's turn to the catholic church.

the election for the new pope is going on. but, again, tonight, another sex abuse case settled. it's a real contagen in the catholic church. >> this is about something very holy. and the pope and the catholic church have stood for important, spiritual issues. and what has been done within the catholic church is unholy. they need to use those words as a crisis manager. they need to have conversations with their congregants about what needs to be done and then there needs to be a change of leadership. >> let's turn to your pet subject. washington dysfunction. i've been completely baffled for the last two months since i've watched cnn. what are they doing in the catholic church? they're not serving the people, which is what they're paid to do.

in my view, bernanke should have played that card earlier. what should be happening next? what is the way through this -- particularly in getting a proper deal done. like you saw, the american economy is the focal point of how we move forward here. >> president obama knows this. i'm just surprised he hasn't done it earlier. there were two deals here. one is each one had to alienate their own base. reagan increased taxes. o'neil cut benefits. both of them took heat. same thing with bill. clinton and newt gingrich didn't like each other much. both of them had to cut benefits, cut spending and newt gingrich agreed to raising taxes and balancing the budget.

left a trillion dollar surplus in the bank. barack obama has to stand up to the base. i'm in the base. he's got to stand up and alienate us: and boehner has to do the same thing against the tea party. it won't happen unless both sides are willing to stand up. >> final question, lance armstrong in a similar way for the way they forgave bill clinton. you were part of that forgiveness process, some would argue, for bill clinton. as long as armstrong got that kind of chance, you think? >> a bit of a disclosure. i've had conversations with his attorneys. i think oprah was a good step, but not enough. he has to do much, much more to ever put this behind. >> but is it a possibility? >> yes. i think the american people are always willing to forgive if there's a teaching moment that out of what he went through he can teach people about doping and teach people about what's

going on in doping in all sports. he can end uprising above. >> i think a lot of people think you know what. >> it's a terrific book. "crisis tales: five rules of coping with crisis." >> and i hope you don't need my help. >> i sincerely hope i don't. we'll be right back. there's nothing like our grilled lobster and lobster tacos. the bar harbor bake is really worth trying. [ male announcer ] get more during red lobster's lobsterfest. with the year's largest selection of mouth-watering lobster entrees. like our delicious lobster lover's dream, featuring two kinds of lobster tails. or our savory, new grilled maine lobster and lobster tacos. my favorite entree is the lobster lover's dream. what's yours? come celebrate lobsterfest and sea food differently. [ male announcer ] visit redlobster.com now for an exclusive $10 coupon on two lobsterfest entrees.